Fahrenheit 451 is a novel that discusses two main themes; censorship and oppression. Fahrenheit 451 tells the story of the protagonist, Guy Montag. At first, Montag takes pleasure in his profession as a fireman, burning illegally owned books and the homes of their owners. However, Montag soon begins to question the value of his profession, books, and at some point his life. Throughout the novel, Montag struggles with his existence and eventually escapes his oppressive, censored society. He later joins an underground network of intellectuals. Montag witnesses the destruction of his former city and dedicates himself to rebuilding a new intellectual society.
Censorship is the prohibition of any books, films, news, etc. that are considered politically unacceptable or a threat to security. There are many examples of censorship in this book. In Fahrenheit 451, owning and reading books is illegal. If a book is found, it is burned and the owner is arrested. If the owner refuses to abandon the books, he or she dies, burning along with their book/books. The people of this society do not think independently
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Oppression is also a major theme in this book. Fahrenheit 451 took place in a future world where books and reading have been outlawed. In this book, the government is quite the oppressive one. The government in Fahrenheit 451 is both controlling and harsh. Some examples of oppression in this book are outlawing reading and book owning. They arrest people for taking an afternoon walk and brainwash most of the society with television and other similar forms of entertainment. The government discourages all kinds of independent thought. The government has elite forces like the mechanical hound to inflict fear upon its citizens. It’s fear that stops rebellions or any kind of outrages. The people of the society are afraid to go against the government because they know what will be done to them if they